In manure collecting systems, the manure is delivered from the barn or other livestock area to a collection pit where it is diluted with water and subsequently transferred to a manure storage tank or to a mobile manure distributing vehicle. To agitate or homogenize the manure stored in the pit, a motor-pump unit is utilized. By raising and lowering the pump, as well as rotating the pump within the pit, the manure can be thoroughly agitated or homogenized. After agitation, the pump is lowered to its lowermost position which automatically connects the outlet of the pump to an outlet pipe so that the manure slurry can then be discharged to the location of use.
In some installations, a submersible motor-pump unit is employed which, in operation, can be submerged beneath the level of the liquid slurry within the pit. In other installations, an above pit motor is employed which is connected to the pump through an elongated vertical drive shaft. In either case, the motor and pump are an integral unit and can be moved both vertically within the pit and rotated about the axis of the supporting column to provide the necessary agitation.
It is often necessary to remove the conventional motor-pump unit from the pit and to accomplish the removel, the pump is raised to its uppermost position and is disconnected from the vertical guide column. As the connection between the pump and the vertical column in the conventional unit may be 18 inches beneath the level of the pit, it is necessary for the operator to lean down into the pit in an awkward position in an attempt to disconnect the pump from PG,3 the guide column. Because of this, there has been a distinct need for a system in which the motor-pump unit can be automatically disconnected from the guide column as it is raised above the level of the pit.
With the use of a submersible motor, the power cable extends from the top of the supporting column down into the pit and is connected to the motor. As the motor-pump unit is elevated during the agitation cycle, the cable will become slack and drape on the rotary deck. In some instances, the cable has fallen down into the pit to interfere with operation of the pump, while in other instances, the cable, during rotation of the deck plate, has been seriously abraded.